'Here's a knocking indeed!' says the Porter in Shakespeare's Scottish
play (Act II, Scene 3) and immediately puts himself into role in order
to deal with the demands of such an early call after a late night of
drinking and carousal: 'If a man were porter of hell-gate...'. But what
roles does the porter of curriculum-gate take on in order to deal with
drama's persistent demands for entry? Ah, that depends upon the
temperature of the times. We, who have been knocking for what seems to
be a very long time, know well that when evaluation and measurement
criteriaare demanded as evidence of drama's ef cacy, an examiner stands
as gatekeeper. When the educational landscape is in danger of
overcrowding, we meet a territorial governor. And how often has the
courtesan turned out to be only a tease because the arts are, for a
brief moment, in the spotlight for their abilities to foster
out-of-the-box thinkers? In this text, we meet these 'commissionaires'
and many more. The gatekeeping roles and what they represent are so
familiar that they have become cliches ´ to us. We know them by their
arguments, ripostes, dismissals, their brief encouragement and lack of
follow-up. And we know that behind each one (however rmly they think
they keep the keys) is a nancial and political master whose power
controls the curriculum building and everything in it.